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Writing a Song about Watching a Writer at Work

I was working on this song yesterday — called She Opens the Book (I Dive In) — about watching a writer working on a piece over time, working on a story or a poem, or maybe a song.

The lyrics came pretty easily and I like the slow quality of it, the laziness of the pace. This demo captures the spirit of what I was going for. I recorded it with my voice right next to the microphone, closing the distance between words and recording. You can hear the breaths between phrases as a result.

I really liked the second verse, with the reference to pen and paper and font to capture a writer’s style:

I watch every line — it’s fine — her writing handthe heartfelt design — the way she holds the penThey say we writethe way we feelEach swoop of the handeach moment, we stealShe opens the book and I dive in